The Curse of Ghost
by Misdreavus573
Summary: A one-shot about the "hack" version of Pokemon Black. It follows Red after his cursed Pokemon journey as he travels alone to Pallet Town one last time. Rated T because there's a whole lot of death. Please read and review!


**This fic is about a rumored and probably non-existant hack of Pokemon Red and Blue, that just happens to be called Pokemon Black. It is _NOT_ about the actual Pokemon Black on the DS, counterpart of Pokemon White. Supposedly, instead of a starter, you're given Ghost, which knows only a move called Curse, which immediately murders whatever Pokemon you're facing. When the battle is over, you can Curse the trainer as well. What happens after you beat the game? Well, read the story to find out what happens... or a more dramatic version, anyway.**

**No, I don't believe this hack actually exists, but I found it interesting enough to write a little fic about it. Enjoy ^_^**

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><p>Slowly, the feeble old man walked, to the abandoned ruins of what was once his home, in a place he called "Pallet Town." He was completely alone, walking down the fields of Route 1 in the dark of night, a crescent moon silently hanging overhead. All the stars of the galaxy were visible in the night sky, because there were no lights. Anywhere.<p>

Every human being, every Pokemon, every soul that had inhabited the world had long vanished. Everyone, except for him, the cursed old man known as Red. He had been living in complete solitude for 50 years now. All of his family, all of his friends, and everyone else there ever would be to know had since disappeared from this world. And it was all his fault.

_Red was a 10-year-old boy ready to begin his Pokemon journey. Filled with excitement, he ran up to the beginning of Route 1, only to be stopped by the Pokemon Professor who lived in town, Professor Oak. The Pokemon Professor told Red to come to his lab, where he would give him his first Pokemon. But when Oak handed him a Poke Ball, there wasn't a "Pokemon" inside._

_Inside this Poke Ball, was Ghost._

_Professor Oak had thought he discovered a brand new type of Ghost Pokemon, and gave it to Red to be his first Pokemon, to discover what powers this Ghost had, as well as to discover new Pokemon with to fill his Pokedex. Oak had no idea what horror he had just unleashed into this young boy's hands. He had no idea that not only had he sealed the fate of the world, but even his very own fate._

_After traveling to Pallet Town and back to deliver a parcel to the Professor, Red began his "Pokemon journey." The first wild Pokemon he had happened upon was a Ratatta. Red released Ghost from it's Poke Ball, ready to begin the battle... and that's when it happened. Ghost turned to Red and gave him some kind of haunting glare, and that was when Red was cursed. He was now compelled by some unknown force to carry out the Ghost's every will. Red was now it's host, the proxy it used to reep death upon this world. Ghost then turned back to the Ratatta, who by now was too afraid to move. Then everything went black, and the Ratatta cried out, but the cry was horribly distorted. Red's vision returned... and the Ratatta had vanished, replaced with a small gravestone, probably some kind of sick joke. It was Ghost's very first victim._

Red stopped for a moment, leaning on a black cane he had found not too long ago. His mind was beginning to become filled with memories of his cursed past... and an overwhelming sense of guilt. After a short rest, he continued to the ruins of Pallet Town, passing by trees and a few small graves on the way, and absolutely nothing else. But his memories still played in his mind.

_He now found himself inside the Saffron City Gym. After defeating and cursing the other trainers in the gym, he was ready to face Sabrina. Red, regardless of whether or not it was his will, released Ghost from it's Poke Ball. As soon as it materialized, it glared straight at the gym leader. Sabrina was a powerful psychic; she could feel the intense aura of malice that surrounded Ghost. She knew it was an evil, malevolent creature that must be stopped._

_But at first, she treated the battle the same way she did any other; she released her Pokemon and began to battle Ghost... only to see her Pokemon vanish before her very eyes. Ghost turned to Sabrina the same way it did to so many trainers before, intent on cursing her as well, but it knew that this would be different. It knew that if there was one being that might have a chance at defeating Ghost, it was Sabrina, the psychic that stood before her._

_Regardless, it began it's curse, but Sabrina resisted. She had intended to use her strong psychic power to bring Ghost down. Everything went black, but for much longer than usual, as Ghost and Sabrina fought their psychic warfare. But eventually, light once again returned... and Ghost and Red were alone. Sabrina had vanished, Ghost had won. There was only a gravestone, one that read "Sabrina."_

_The rest of the world would be dealt with later._

By this point, Red had fought back tears as he remembered Sabrina, wishing that she would have been powerful enough to win her psychic battle with Ghost. If she had, Ghost would have disappeared the way it made so many others do, and his curse would have ended long ago. The lives of billions of people and Pokemon could've been saved. The world could have had life.

But deep inside, he knew that it couldn't be. Ghost was just too powerful, there was no stopping it. Instead, after Ghost had defeated and killed the Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and Champion, the latter of which was Red's personal friend and rival Blue, it went on by itself, spending the last 50 years cursing every living being on the planet into nothingness. All life other than Red's had vanished so long ago. In his mind, he had hoped that somewhere out there, was a small handful of people or Pokemon that Ghost had missed, that a tiny pocket of life could still exist. But he had not seen another living being in 50 years. As far as he knew, Red was the last living being; old, frail, and alone.

In the many years since, Red had survived using the abandoned Pokemon Centers, Poke Marts, shops and restaurants for food and shelter. He had seen countless gravestones of people and Pokemon he-Ghost-had killed. Eventually he had made his way to the Pokemon Center of Lavendar Town, which is where he found his black cane. But after staying there for a few weeks, he was suddenly compelled to travel back to his former home in Pallet Town. That word, "compelled"...it was Ghost. After Red watched Ghost curse Blue before his eyes many years ago, he had never seen Ghost again. But Ghost had returned, and was waiting for him in Pallet Town, he could feel it. And it wanted to do battle one last time, with it's own host, Red. There was one last person Ghost needed to curse into death.

He knew now that he must face Ghost. Regardless of the outcome, Red would die... but so would Ghost. When it had taken Red as it's host, it forced him to obey his every will, but it also bound their fate together. When one dies, so does the other. It would soon be over.

After one last journey, Red had made it to Pallet Town. He had never returned there after Blue had died; this was the first time he had seen Pallet Town in 50 years, but he still recognized the small cluster of long abandoned buildings that he had called home when he was a young boy, that were once filled with life. Houses, schools, clinics, shops, Professor Oak's lab... wait...

Professor Oak's lab. Despite the force that compelled him to return to his old home, he was more compelled by an overwhelming sense of curiosity and a faint glimmer of hope. He went inside, looking around not for a sense of nostalgia, nor for a sense of guilt, but to find something.

Finally, he found a seemingly nondescript steel cylindar. Heart pounding, he pressed a small, easy to miss button on it's side, and it opened up, a small platform raising up. Upon seeing what was inside... Red could no longer hold his tears. They finally streamed down his aged face like a waterfall. But these were not caused by sorrow or guilt. No, for the first time in 50 years, Red cried tears of joy, for he had found something he had not seen in equally as long.

Life. Or, more specifically, Pokemon.

This steel container held Pokemon that were to be handed out to young trainers starting on their journey. Inside it were three Poke Balls, and inside of them, were Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur. These poor Pokemon had laid dormant inside of their Poke Balls all this time. After all, Pokemon did not have life-spans like people did, only levels. For a Pokemon to die, something would have to actively kill it. Something like Ghost. But Ghost had no idea about this container; when Red had recieved it, Ghost's Poke Ball was simply resting on a table. It had never seen anyone activate the container, so it didn't know there were Pokemon inside. These Pokemon had survived by being forgotten.

Red held up the three Poke Balls, and began to speak, knowing that the Pokemon could hear him inside. He explained what had happened all these years, why he was here now, and how we was to face Ghost. He told them that he would release them from their Poke Balls, but that they should wait in the lab until the sun rises. By then, his battle with Ghost would be over, and they could freely roam, and keep each other company. And they could reinhabit the world when all was finished, since they were capable of cross breeding, and Charmander was female while the other two were male.

He released them from their Poke Balls. When they had come out and responded to him, letting him know that they would do as he said, he felt more warmth than he had ever felt, even before ever began his cursed Pokemon journey. Three living beings Ghost had forgotten were standing before him, looking as happy as he was to finally be released from their Poke Balls.

But Red didn't have time to sit around and bask in his newfound happiness. He had to fight Ghost, or he would discover these three Pokemon and curse them into nothingness, like it did so many before. Now that he had this one last chance to make sure this world would once again have life, that was something he would not let happen. Heading for the door, he waved farewell, saying,

"Goodbye. May you live long, joyful lives!"

"Char!"

"Squirtle!"

"Bulba!"

With a warm smile on his old, wrinkled face, he closed the door, and headed to his old home nearby, ready to face Ghost one last time.

After passing a few more abandoned houses, he reached the house next to his own: Blue's house. This caused him to remember all of his memories with his former friend and rival. In particular, he remembered when they were both young, when he and Blue were fishing, and they had accidentely fished up an empty Poke Ball. Both of the boys wanted to keep the Poke Ball for themselves, so they both gripped it and tried to pull it away from each other. Eventually, the Poke Ball snapped in half, and they both decided to keep one half.

After Ghost had defeated Champion Blue's Pokemon, but before it cursed Blue into death, Blue had given Red the other half of the Poke Ball. He did not blame Red for what was about to happen; he knew that Red had been cursed by Ghost, that he had no choice in what Ghost did and did not do. He did not cry when he was cursed; Blue had left this world with a grin. Red had both pieces of the Poke Ball to this day.

Red wanted to honor the memory of Blue as the last thing he did before he battled Ghost. Hands shaking from age, he took both pieces of the Poke Ball and placed each of them on the front steps of what was once Blue's home, long ago. He wanted to say something, but could not find any words, what was left of his tears starting to materialize in his eyes. So he simply smiled, and nodded at the twin Poke Ball pieces. He then turned, and made his way to the abandoned house next door. His own. Where Ghost was waiting.

Opening the door, he looked around downstairs. Dusty tables, chairs, and couches, old lamps and paintings, a relatively ancient television that hadn't been turned on in ages. All of these were once his things. He noticed a picture of him as a young boy, with a toothy smile, being held by... his mother. Though his father had abandoned them long ago, his mother always took care of him before he became of age to begin a Pokemon journey. She was a kind and loving mother who fully supported his old dream of becoming a Champion. Now there was only another gravestone that lay in the kitchen, one that symbolized where his mother had been taken by Ghost.

But Red no longer had time to cry and dwell on his sorrow and guilt. Slowly, the feeble old man climbed up the stairs, and immediately after the last step, was the door to his room. After collecting himself for a second, he opened the room. He did not see Ghost. Puzzled, he made his way inside, then, stepping past the small TV and ancient video game system that once belonged to him, he looked out the large window that was in his old room. He could see nothing outside...

Then he heard something behind him. Slowly turning around, he finally saw his curse with his own eyes. He was now face to face with Ghost. Red prepared himself to struggle against Ghost's curse... but it did nothing. Then, his door suddenly opened by itself, and he saw... spirits. The spirits of every person and Pokemon Ghost had cursed while it was with Red flew in from the door, then flew back out, and was replaced with the next, from that first Rattata, to Blue, who still had his grin. Then, after Blue flew back outside, the door shut, and Ghost moved closer to Red.

Although Red knew the outcome would be the same regardless, he wanted to defeat Ghost to regain a little of his pride. So he struggled against Ghost, but nothing happened. Ghost was unfazed, and infact did not even moved as Red struggled. It waited until he had worn himself out, until he could no longer attempt to fight. It was enjoying seeing him try to battle a spectre.

Finally, after expending what little energy an old man could have, Red collapsed onto both knees, and looked back up at Ghost. That's when it began it's final curse. Everything went black for the last time, but there was no cry. After a few moments, the blackness let up... and Red was gone. He now had a gravestone of his own. His curse was finally over, he was at peace.

Then Ghost started to dissapate. But it did not mind. As it dispersed into the air, it held a sick, malicious grin. It had at long last completed its goal. The last bit of Ghost had dissapeared, but nobody was alive to celebrate. Ghost had won. Every single person, every single Pokemon, every single being in this world was dead.

...or so it had thought.

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><p>The sun rose over the abandoned world. Or, the mostly abandoned world.<p>

The door of the old laboratory of Pallet Town suddenly jolted open, and out crashed 3 Pokemon. Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur. They had to stand on each other's shoulders to be tall enough to open the door, and once it opened, they lost balance and fell humorously to the ground. It was now safe to go outside; the old man that spoke to them told them that he and the spectre that had nearly depopulated the world would be gone by now. And he was true to his word; they saw no signs of the spectre. Ghost was gone, and yet they remained.

But they didn't feel alone at all. No, they felt like they belonged more than ever. For they had spent Ghost's entire reign alone and forgotten in Poke Balls, but now they had each other's company.

Soon they reached the beginning of what the old man called "Route 1." After taking one look back at Pallet Town, they began to head down Route 1, beginning their own little journey. They would search to see if maybe there were more people or Pokemon that hid all this time that both Red and Ghost had missed, and they would repopulate the world.

It might look a little different, but the world would once again thrive with life. And it would begin with Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur.

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><p><strong>And there you have it. I tried to make it dark and depressing, but with a little joy and hope at the end. Hope you liked it =p<strong>

**Please remember to review ^_^**


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